WASHINGTON -- Davey Martinez's job is safe for now.
"We're not making any decisions with a third of the season gone," said Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo on Friday afternoon, when asked about his confidence level in the Nats manager. "We've got a lot of season left. Davey's not happy with what's going on; nobody's happy with what's going on -- the fan base, ownership, and myself. Things gotta get better. We've got to play better baseball."
Two months into the season, the Nationals have been the most disappointing team in baseball. Expected to contend for the National League East title, they were 10 games out of first place entering their weekend series against the Miami Marlins. Their .380 winning percentage was the fourth worst in the majors, ahead of only the Royals, Marlins and Orioles.
Although Washington has consistently underperformed this season, the past week has been especially troublesome. After winning back-to-back games for the first time in a month, the Nats proceeded to lose six of their next seven. That skid included a four-game sweep at the hands of the New York Mets, who had just been swept by last-place Miami.
"They're gut-wrenching losses, and they're demoralizing, and they're upsetting," said Rizzo, whose club lost eighth-inning leads in each of the past three games of the Mets series. "We've got to put ourselves in position to win baseball games, we have to play cleaner games, we have to perform better, and we have to play up to the capability of this roster."
Washington's bullpen, which ranks last in MLB with a 7.02 ERA, has been under siege for most of the season, but Rizzo was quick to point out that his relievers aren't solely responsible for the team's struggles.
"Everyone's got their part in it," said the GM. "Management, general manager, everyone's got their part in how we're playing, just as we have for the past eight years of how well we've played. This is a team process. There's a lot of things that have to go right to win, and we certainly have to turn around and play better baseball.
"We're fairly spoiled in that clubhouse. We've won a lot of games for a lot of years and we're used to winning. It's not happening right now, but we're not going to pull the plug on the season less than a third into it."
Martinez spent 10 years serving as Joe Maddon's bench coach before earning his first managerial gig following the 2017 season. He replaced Dusty Baker, who went 192-132 and won two pennants during his two years in Washington but failed to win a playoff series. In the second year of a three-year deal, Martinez is 101-111 since taking over.
Last summer, just eight days into his big league career, Ramon Laureano went viral.
His spectacular outfield assist -- the one in which he caught a Justin Upton drive on the run at the warning track in left-center, then turned and fired a strike to first base to double up Eric Young -- was the kind of play legends are made of. And the kind of video that ends up everywhere.
On April 22, the Oakland Athletics center fielder one-upped himself by robbing Teoscar Hernandez of a homer, then unleashing a missile to first base that resulted in a double play. The throw, which traveled nearly 400 feet, according to some estimates, actually sailed past first and into foul territory, but that doesn't matter. What matters is Laureano has made a habit of doing physics-defying things with his right arm.
In his very first MLB game last summer, he stopped the Detroit Tigers' Jose Iglesias, who was trying to stretch a double into a triple. The very next day, he got Mike Gerber. Earlier this season, he recorded an outfield assist in all three games of a series against the Boston Red Sox (Xander Bogaerts was a victim twice).
Since making his debut on Aug. 3, 2018, Laureano's 14 assists are more than any outfielder in the majors and almost twice as many as the next-closest guy. It's no fluke, either -- in 380 minor league games, he tallied a jaw-dropping 50 assists.
"I've been doing that since high school and Little League," says Laureano, a native of the Dominican Republic who moved to upstate New York as a teenager. Recruited as a pitcher/outfielder, he landed at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, where he played one year before the Houston Astros selected him in the 16th round of the 2014 draft. Five years later, he's patrolling center field in Oakland and challenging Draymond Green for the Bay Area's biggest assist monger.
So just how lethal is Laureano's laser? To find out, we spoke with those who've seen it in person.
Upper Room Christian School head coach Tony Passalacqua: His arm was just ridiculous. He would hit 94 on the radar gun off the mound, but he would always say, "Coach, I don't like to pitch." Nobody could really run on him at the high school level. There were many times when he'd throw someone out, and you'd sit there and say, "That's just not right for a high school player to do that."
Northeast Oklahoma A&M head coach Roger Ward: The arm strength was a no-doubter, but he didn't pitch because we were worried about how many people he would hurt. It was 93, but it was everywhere, and he had a hard time throwing strikes. It ran arm-side on him, hard. If it ran 2 or 3 feet at the plate, it would run 10 feet from the outfield. He definitely corrected that issue and has gotten incredibly accurate with it.
Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias, formerly Astros scouting director: In scouting, we use a 20-to-80 scale, where 80 is as good an arm as you can have. I probably would have called it a 60 or 65. We didn't say, "Oh, my gosh, this is the best arm on the planet." But it was obvious he had a plus arm.
Philadelphia Phillies farm director Josh Bonifay, formerly Greenville Astros (rookie ball) manager: It was our opening minicamp for the Greenville Astros. It's in June, right after the draft. We're taking outfield and infield, and the first time I hit him a ground ball, he throws it to second base, and I'm like, "Oof, that's a hose." So then he throws it to third, and it was nowhere near the third baseman. I think it ended up more in the dugout than anything. And then you hit him to home, and he throws it halfway up the screen. We knew then he had an absolute bazooka. We just had to harness it.
Red Sox coach Ramon Vasquez, formerly Lancaster JetHawks (Class-A) manager: They didn't really run much on him because the whole league kind of knew from the beginning of the season. I actually had a little bit of an argument with him during that season about keeping the ball low. His throws were in line most of the time, but as strong as his arm was, he overshot the cutoff man, and bases. The accuracy was going to come.
Tampa Bay Rays third-base coach Rodney Linares, formerly Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A) manager: Nobody ran on him. They learned in the minor leagues. He should have had 25 assists. There were times when it was a solid single to center field, and the guy should have scored but they just stopped. They stopped running on him halfway through the year. His arm is the stuff fairy tales are made of.
Fran Riordan, Las Vegas Aviators (Triple-A) manager: We were playing in Nashville last year. He was playing in right field, and there was nobody out. Deep fly ball into the right-field corner, where the visitors' bullpen is. He goes really deep into the corner and makes an unbelievable catch going full sprint. The runner at first base tagged up, not thinking there was going to be a play. Ramon calmly unleashes a line-drive missile all the way to second base and the runner doesn't even slide, thinking there's going to be no play. He was out by 5 feet.
Vasquez: We talked about him. We know he's a plus arm, a 70 arm. We told our guys. But when you look at those plays, they had to happen. Sometimes you gotta challenge the guy. He actually made three perfect throws. All three plays, if you look at those plays, if that throw would've been a step to the left, a step to the right, maybe a little bit higher, we would have been safe. He executed those perfectly.
"His arm is the stuff fairy tales are made of." Rodney Linares, Ramon Laureano's former Double-A manager, now the Tampa Bay Rays' third-base coach
Riordan: If you look at what he's done in the big leagues on a very short sample size, and I saw what he did last year in Triple-A, these aren't good throws. These are throws that have to be perfect in order to get the out. He's not just making good throws -- he's making perfect throws from impossible places on the field at all bases. I've been managing in the minors for 20 years. There's a lot of strong arms in professional baseball, and there's a lot of accurate arms in professional baseball. In my opinion, there's no combination of arm strength and accuracy like Ramon's.
Linares: I don't know why people keep running on him. With Ramon, you gotta be careful. [In Tampa Bay] we pride ourselves on being really aggressive, but when we play Oakland, I know when to stop the guys.
Orioles shortstop Richie Martin (thrown out at home by Laureano on April 9): I mean, shoot, he's one of the best outfielders in the league right now. He just made a good play. It was kind of laid up for him, a one-hop ball to throw me out. But I thought with my jump that I got right off the bat -- I knew it was going to be close -- but I thought I was going to beat it. But he had me by like 3 or 4 feet. It was a perfect throw. He's legit.
Orioles OF/1B Trey Mancini (on deck when Martin was thrown out): In our meeting, they'll run through the arms of everyone on their team. So we knew that he had a great arm -- it's no secret. Richie's really fast, but he made a perfect throw and got him with a few steps to spare. Leonys Martin's got a really good arm, but I think Laureano's got the best arm I've ever seen. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that you don't run on him.
Bogaerts (multiple-time Laureano victim): He has a good arm and his accuracy, I remember, I got a double at [Fenway Park]. I thought about stretching it to three again and I rounded second and I stopped because I remembered what he did to me. Once, it's OK. The second time, I risked it again, but then it's like, nah. He has the arm and the accuracy, so I just shut it down. I just don't understand how he throws it good like that. He throws it right there, man. Chapman. Boom. And it's right there.
ESPN's Joon Lee contributed to this story.
Some strong fields are set to battle for 10km and mile glory over the bank holiday weekend as Vitality Westminster Mile and Vitality London 10,000 action returns to the UK capital.
In Monday’s 10km, Mo Farah will defend his title as he seeks a sixth win in a line-up loaded with top British talent.
It is a decade since Farah first claimed London 10,000 victory and the four-time Olympic champion, back in the capital after finishing fifth in last month’s Virgin Money London Marathon, will be expected to celebrate success again on The Mall as he did in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2018.
“I really enjoy running the 10km distance and look forward to returning to the Vitality London 10,000 again this year,” said Farah, who ran his PB of 27:44 in London in 2010.
“The course is spectacular and the London crowds are fantastic, lining the streets and cheering everyone the whole way round. I’m looking forward to it.”
Another former winner in action will be Andrew Butchart, who continued his return to top form after injury by running a World Championships 5000m qualifying time at the Payton Jordan Invitational earlier this month.
The London 10,000 will be the two-time winner’s second 10km race since breaking his foot in February 2018.
Farah and Butchart are two of nine athletes in the field who have run sub-29 minutes for 10km, with Nick Goolab – the fastest man over the distance in the UK this year with 28:22 – joining them along with Luke Traynor, Andy Vernon, Ben Connor, Jack Gray, Phil Sesemann and Andrew Heyes.
Goolab is clearly in great form, having also recently won the Ipswich Twilight 5km in a PB of 13:34.
Two-time Olympic triathlon medallist Jonny Brownlee races at the event for the first time and the field also includes Sam Stabler, Charlie Hulson, Kieran Clements, Josh Griffiths, Richard Allen, Matt Sharp, Derek Rae and Derek Hawkins.
Steph Twell returns to the event to defend her women’s 10km title and since her her marathon debut of 2:30:14 in December, she has gone on to win the Reading Half Marathon and then set a 10km PB of 31:58 in Brighton.
Two other former winners will join her – 2016 victor Lily Partridge and Gemma Steel, who won in 2014.
British 10,000m track champion Charlotte Arter will be looking to challenge, having set a Welsh half-marathon record of 69:41 in Barcelona in February.
Completing a strong field are Tish Jones, Jess Piasecki, Kate Avery, Hayley Carruthers, Louise Small, Tracy Barlow, Helen Davies, Verity Ockenden, Clara Evans, Jenny Nesbitt, Morag Miller and Emily Hosker-Thornhill.
Johnboy Smith and Shelly Woods are among those contesting the wheelchair races, following their wins last weekend at the Great Manchester Run.
In the Westminster Mile, Laura Muir headlines the elite women’s field as the British 1500m record-holder races for the first time since successfully defending her two European indoor titles in Glasgow.
Britain’s second fastest ever miler on the roads was within half a second of Zola Budd’s then UK record when she clocked 4:18.03 in New York in 2016. Laura Weightman has since improved the British road best, running 4:17.6 in 2017.
“I’m really excited. It was 2013 that I last competed there (at the Westminster Mile) and I remember it really clearly,” says the 26-year-old, who clocked 4:46 then to place eighth in a race won by Hannah England in 4:31.
“For a race that was six years ago, I remember it really well. It’s so iconic, running on that course and finishing next to Buckingham Palace.”
Also among the favourites will be defending champion Melissa Courtney and European indoor 800m champion Shelayna Oskan-Clarke, plus Sarah McDonald and Adelle Tracey, the winners in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
In the men’s race, European indoor 3000m silver medallist Chris O’Hare, who has a mile PB of 3:52.0 from 2017, will look to add to his wins in London from 2014 and 2018.
Three-time British 800m champion Elliot Giles, recent European 800m indoor silver medallist Jamie Webb, course record-holder Goolab and Mike Rimmer will be among those hoping to push him.
The wheelchair races feature Smith and Woods, plus Simon Lawson and Mel Nicholls.
Sunday May 26
09:25-12:30 on BBC Red Button
09:25-15:50 on BBC Online, plus a live stream via the AW Facebook page – click here
Monday May 27
09:50-12:30 on BBC Red Button and BBC Online, plus a live stream via the AW Facebook page – click here
It is 20 years since the golden couple of tennis - Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf - won French Open singles titles and danced at the winners' ball.
Germany's Graf retired later that year, with 22 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, and went on to marry eight-time major winner Agassi in 2001.
It got us thinking about other tennis romances and the 'love' in the sport's scoring system...
So here's a quiz to get yourself in the mood for the French Open.
Australian world number 36 Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the French Open with illness on Friday.
It comes just days after the 24-year-old posted on social media saying the competition "absolutely sucks" compared to other Grand Slam events.
Kyrgios was due to play British number two Cameron Norrie, 23, in the first round.
World number 41 Norrie will now face a lucky loser or a qualifier in the first round.
Last week Kyrgios admitted "emotions got the better of me" after he forfeited his second-round match with Norwegian Casper Ruud at the Italian Open.
Kyrgios' agent said the Australian had been "wiped out" by a bug he picked up earlier in the week.
He also pulled out of last year's French Open with an elbow injury and has never reached the second week in Paris.
Britain's Norrie is joined by compatriots Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans in the men's singles draw, while British number one Johanna Konta is seeded 26th in the women's draw.
Britain's Katie Swan missed out on a place in the main draw of the French Open following a 4-6 5-7 defeat to Slovakia's Kristina Kucova in the final round of qualifying in Paris.
Swan, ranked 208th in the world, took a medical time-out after losing the first set but went 3-0 up in the second.
But she was broken four times in a pulsating deciding set in which both players struggled to hold their serve.
The 20-year-old has never reached the main draw in France.
British number three Katie Boulter, 22, who withdrew from the French Open with a back injury but travelled to Paris to pick up the £20,000 first-round prize money, was on court supporting Swan.
Johanna Konta, seeded 26th, is the only British woman in the main draw while Kyle Edmund, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans are all in the men's singles.
Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd says his side can reverse last weekend's loss at Exeter Chiefs as they return to Sandy Park for the Premiership semi-final.
Saints conceded six tries in a 40-21 defeat by the league leaders.
"It's interesting this week as we're playing the same opposition and the guys know what's coming," Boyd said.
"But we can make tweaks on how we came unstuck last week and how we can improve."
Despite losing at Sandy Park, other results went his side's way as they finished fourth on 56 points - the lowest total ever to make the Premiership's post-season matches.
Despite Saints finishing ninth last year the New Zealander said he felt making the top four was a realistic ambition when he arrived in August.
"At the start of the year, when you looked around the room at the potential in the squad, making this stage was absolutely possible," the 60-year-old added to BBC Radio Northampton.
"You don't know when you're next going to get back here, so this is definitely a huge opportunity. Yes, we're still building as a squad, but let's go full on at this game."
For Exeter boss Rob Baxter the challenge is to ensure his relatively unchanged side keep their focus in a game they are favourites to win.
"It's really about focusing on yourselves and the processes that have worked for you, and probably not getting frustrated because things won't be exactly the same. They can't be, rugby's too complex a game," he told BBC Sport.
"Probably the team that don't get frustrated because things don't quite go the way they want them to and can actually knuckle down and work across the 80 minutes will be the team who'll come through."
Having impressed in beating Northampton last Saturday, Exeter make just one change to their starting side, with winger Tom O'Flaherty preferred to Olly Woodburn, who drops out of the squad.
It means England and British and Irish Lions winger Jack Nowell continues at full-back, while prop Alex Hepburn, who was a late withdrawal last week, returns to the bench.
England captain Dylan Hartley is not fit enough to play, despite Boyd saying he had a chance after last week's defeat.
All four of Boyd's changes to his Northampton line-up come in the forwards as Francois van Wyk, James Fish, and Ehren Painter form a new-look front row.
Flanker James Gibson is replaced by Api Ratuniyarawa who starts in the second row, with Courtney Lawes moving back to the blindside.
Exeter: Nowell; Cuthbert, Slade, Devoto, O'Flaherty; Simmonds, White; Moon, Yeandle (capt), Williams, Dennis, Hill, Ewers, Armand, Kvesic
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Hepburn, Francis, Skinner, Simmonds, Maunder, Steenson, Hill
Northampton: Tuala; Collins, Hutchinson, Francis, Naiyaravoro; Biggar, Reinach; van Wyk, Fish, Painter, Moon, Ratuniyarawa, Lawes, Ludlam, Harrison (capt)
Replacements: Dawidiuk, Waller, Hill, Ribbans, Gibson, Wood, Mitchell, Burrell
Referee: Matthew Carley.
Holders Saracens will bid to return to Twickenham and defend their Premiership title when they host Gloucester in the first of the play-off semi-finals.
But the Cherry and Whites will hope to spring an upset and reach their first final since 2007, the same year they beat Saracens in the last four.
Head coach Johan Ackermann says "nothing that has gone before will matter in this one-off contest."
The winner will face either Exeter or Northampton on Saturday 1 June.
Gloucester, who include Premiership player of the year Danny Cipriani at fly-half, finished third in the regular season and beat Saracens 30-24 at home in February.
But European Champions Cup winners Saracens were big winners in their other league meeting at Allianz Park in September and are looking to reach a seventh final.
"We're playing a really good team. I think they've been building brilliantly for a while now," Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They signed really cleverly in the summer with the players they brought in and I think it's a real game-changer for them.
"There's a real solid look to their team with two experienced half-backs and their pack so we know they're a good side.
"Because of that, it's really focused the mind this week and we're properly physically and emotionally recovered from the European Champions Cup final to go again."
South African Ackermann, in his second season at Gloucester, is confident his team can prevail despite having lost on their past six visits to north London.
"It's the team who scores that one point more who is going to win," he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
"We respect Saracens for what they've achieved - a group who've been together for several years and won a host of trophies - so we know the challenge ahead.
"But, we have to believe and trust that our players are ready."
Saracens rotated their squad for the final regular-season match at Worcester and their semi-final line-up features two enforced changes from the Champions Cup final win against Leinster.
Props Richard Barrington and Vincent Koch were early replacements for Mako Vunipola (hamstring) and Titi Lamositele (ankle) that day and keep their places.
Gloucester also rested their frontline operators against Sale last weekend and Charlie Sharples is the only survivor from that defeat. The winger will bid to add to his 10 Premiership tries so far in this campaign.
Willi Heinz returns as captain at scrum-half alongside Cipriani at fly-half.
Saracens: Goode; Williams, Lozowski, Barrett (capt), Maitland; Farrell, Spencer; Barrington, George, Koch, Skelton, Kruis, Itoje, Wray, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Gray, Adams-Hale, Judge, Isiekwe, Rhodes, Wigglesworth, Tompkins, Strettle.
Gloucester: Woodward; Sharples, Twelvetrees, Atkinson, Marshall; Cipriani, Heinz (capt); Hohneck, Marais, Balmain, Slater, Mostert, Ackermann, Kriel, Morgan.
Replacements: Sherry, Rapava Ruskin, Dreyer, Savage, Ludlow, Polledri, Vellacott, Purdy.
Referee: Luke Pearce.
PERU, Ind. – Trey Robb prevailed on the opening night of the Performance Electronics 600cc Non-Wing World Championship on Thursday at Circus City Speedway.
More than 100 Non-Wing Outlaw Micros checked in for the opening night of racing action atop the Indiana oval.
Robb started on the outside front row of the 40-lap, $1,000-to-win prelim feature. Robb would jump out to the race lead and capture the victory. Brandon Rose crossed in the runner up spot with eleventh starter, Frank Flud coming home in third. Pole starter, Jake Moore ended up in the fourth spot with Zeke Lewis rounding out the top five.
Emerson Axsom was sixth after starting 16th on the field. Brian Carber was seventh with Chris Cochran crossing in eighth. Kenny Miller took the ninth spot and Ron Dennis in tenth.
Twelve heat races were contested and won by: Jake Moore, Brian Carber, Kenny Miller, A.J. Hopkins, Brandon Rose, Zeke Lewis, Zak Gorski, Chase Cabre, B.J. Wilson, Deaven Bolton, Tommy Kunsman and Christian Bruno.
The nights six Qualifier winner were: Jake Moore, Trey Robb, Ron Dennis, Brandon Rose, Zeke Lewis and Chris Cochran.
The lone Last Chance Qualifier win went to Matt Carr.
Editor's note: This was originally published on May 4, 2018, with Brad Marchand's top 20 moments. Five have been added from the 2018-19 season.
You know Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand by many names. The "Little Ball of Hate," which was a moniker first bestowed on Pat Verbeek but repurposed for a modern combination of talent and annoyance. He has been called a "Honey Badger" and "Squirrel." He embraced "Nose-Face Killah," a Wu-Tang Clan reference that also referenced his ample schnoz.
But here's another name: heel.
He's Ric Flair. He's Chris Jericho. He's that quintessential combination of athleticism, verbosity and a willingness to win dirty that creates a character you love to hate, when you're not just outright hating him.
As Marchand relayed in 2018 in The Players' Tribune:
"I have done things that have stepped over that line, and I've paid the price for it. But you know what? There's a lot of people out there in the hockey world who love to say, 'Winning is everything. It's the only thing.' But do they really mean it? How far are they willing to go? Maybe it was my size, or just the way I was born, but I've always felt like you have to be willing to do anything -- literally anything -- in order to win. Even if that means being hated. Even if it means carrying around some baggage. If I played the game any other way, you absolutely would not know my name. You wouldn't care enough to hate me, because I wouldn't be in the NHL."
Oh, he's noticed -- for plays on the edge, over the edge and that frankly define the edge.
Here are the top 25 heel moments for Marchand during his NHL career:
This was a curious one. Landeskog was given a match penalty for illegally hitting Marchand in the head and was later given a two-game suspension for it. Marchand responded to that hit with a gloved punch to the head of the Avalanche forward, for which he was given a $5,000 fine.
Marchand said after the game that he didn't consider Landeskog a dirty player. Said Landeskog: "Right away, like I said, I tried to let up, and then I tried to skate up and apologize and tell him I didn't mean to come across. And he ... obviously he wasn't hurt with that sucker punch. Like I said, I'm happy he didn't get hurt."
In a Game 7 (!) against the Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price froze the puck at the top of his crease to stop play. Marchand was skating toward him, stopped and created a spray of ice like he had a snow blower strapped to his calf. Marchand was given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, much to Pierre McGuire's chagrin. As heel moves go, this is mild.
I liked a @YouTube video http://t.co/ObeF3iwDnN Brad Marchand gets the goal then taunts Matt Cooke HD Game 2 June 3 2013
- GUITARMANJT! (@GUITARMANJT1990) February 7, 2015
Taunting Matt Cooke is God's work, and Marchand did his service in the Bruins' Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He and Cooke exchanged pleasantries, and then Marchand scored on a wicked snipe.
How did he celebrate? By immediately searching out Cooke and calling to him, then saying, "What?! What?!" In other words, the best celebration.
This slew-foot on the then-Penguins defenseman was notable for having resulted in one of only seven career fights for Marchand. He was given a $2,500 fine for this slew-foot behind the goal. After the game, Marchand was ... contrite?
"It was a dangerous play and it was definitely a slew-foot," he told the gathered media. "Those are dangerous plays, and guys can get hurt like that. It's something I shouldn't have done, and they penalized me for it, and I'll move on now."
Marchand's equal when it comes to controversy and trash talk is "frenemy" P.K. Subban. When Subban was with the Canadiens, these two players battled on the regular, on and off the ice. That included in the dressing room, where Marchand would wage the war of words.
As in this March 2013 game: "Subban was asking me to fight. Three or four guys asked to fight him, and he's running scared," Marchand said of Subban. "But he comes after the smallest guy on the team. It just shows you what kind of character they have there."
Marchand cross-check on MacDonald pic.twitter.com/NU5LomKdcQ
- Pure Hockey (@PureHockey) April 2, 2018
Marchand was checked to the boards by Andrew MacDonald, who fell to the ice. Marchand then cross-checked the Flyers defenseman in the head.
Marchand was given a two-minute minor and a $5,000 fine by the NHL. Luckily, this happened before the 2018 playoffs, where cross-checks to the head were more frowned upon.
Brassard, then with the Rangers, had established position as the two chased a loose puck to the corner. So Marchand did as Marchand does, which is kick out Brassard's leg from under him, causing Brassard to crash awkwardly into the boards.
"The way I fell on the ice, maybe I could have missed the rest of the season if I hurt my knee there," Brassard said. "Marchand's a pretty good player. He's feisty. He competes hard. But those kind of things we don't want in our game." Marchand was suspended two games.
Anthony Duclair suffers knee injury after collision with Brad Marchand pic.twitter.com/Z3LdZaG6Qq
- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 10, 2018
Yet another case of "this looked really bad, and it involved Brad Marchand, but nothing came of it," Marchand attempted to avoid Anthony Duclair of the Chicago Blackhawks -- and then ended up clotheslining him. Marchand was given a two-minute minor for interference. Duclair's season ended with a lower-body injury. There was no supplemental discipline.
"I think it was pretty dirty, to be honest with you. He did reach out to me after, but I'm out for the rest of the year. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. Hopefully I come back, but I thought it was pretty dirty," Duclair said.
This was early-era Marchand. Watching the then-rookie clip R.J. Umberger in the head with his elbow while Umberger had his back to Marchand -- for which Marchand wasn't penalized -- is like hearing "About a Girl" on Nirvana's "Bleach" for the first time: lacking profundity, but showing undeniable potential for grateness, er, greatness to come. Marchand was suspended two games.
"I had no idea. I didn't think it was that bad of a hit. At the time, there was no talk about it after the game, so initially, it couldn't have been that big of a deal," he said.
The NHL had warned Marchand earlier in the 2017-18 season about embellishment. Against the Penguins, Marchand appeared to trip over his own skates when Olli Maatta's stick got near them. The NHL decided this was worth a $2,000 fine.
Said Marchand: "That hit is very small and minor. It's the last thing I'm going to worry about. I don't care about this. It's a joke. It's a small amount of money and pretty stupid. But it is what it is." Marchand made $6.1 million in 2017-18.
Brad Marchand �� ▶️▶️▶️ Scott Harrington#HfHits>pic.twitter.com/CaKUIItFmw - hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) May 1, 2019
With just over a minute left in Game 3 of a second-round series against the Blue Jackets, defenseman Scott Harrington slid on his knees to help goalie Sergei Bobrovsky cover the puck. A scrum ensued across the crease between Bruins and Jackets. Meanwhile, Marchand stood behind Harrington. You can literally watch him survey the officials as they entered the scrum to break it up, like a thief waiting for a surveillance camera to rotate in the opposite direction. Exhibiting the impulse control of a child confronted with a piñata at their birthday party, Marchand swiftly punched Harrington in the back of the head, dropping him to the ice, and then skating away like it was some kind of pugilistic mic drop.
Marchand wasn't penalized on the play, nor did he get a hearing from the Department of Player Safety. Testifying before a Canadian Parliamentary hearing on concussions, commissioner Gary Bettman said that Marchand should have been penalized and, if it happens again, "he should look forward to a suspension."
Marchand trip on Kronwall pic.twitter.com/h84N6C6Czq
- Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 25, 2017
This was, in hindsight, laughable. Marchand wasn't penalized, so when it came to supplemental discipline, a suspension was anticipated. Instead, Marchand was fined $10,000, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for sticking out his leg and hitting the back of an opponent's knee with "forechecking" that would have made the Hanson Brothers blush (and Billy Zabka proud).
"I think they might have given me a bit of a break," Marchand said, in an understatement. "The last thing I want to be doing is continually going back and being in front of those guys. ... I'm sure they're getting sick of seeing me." Well, yeah.
In overtime of Game 1 in their playoff series, Blue Jackets forward Atkinson lined up next to Marchand during a faceoff. A lot can happen in these situations, as the focus of the on-ice officials is usually centered on the faceoff. What happened here: Marchand lifted up his right skate and stepped down on Atkinson's stick blade, breaking it.
Atkinson protested to the officials to no avail, lamenting later, "Hey, if that's how he wants to roll." (Spoiler: It is.) Marchand later trolled Atkinson, saying: "I think he was trying to dull my blade there. ... Send me to the room, get it sharpened. It's kind of rude of him to do." Which was a funny joke, until it wasn't anymore for Brad. (See No. 7 below.)
Brad Marchand given five minutes for spearing Dotchin in the groin pic.twitter.com/f9txhbYtGL
- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 4, 2017
Marchand and Dotchin were in front of the Tampa Bay net when Marchand decided to give him a swift cup-check with his stick blade. The Lightning defenseman crumpled to the ice, holding his bolts. He was still there when Marchand was ushered from the penalty box to the dressing room with a game misconduct.
The Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup celebration continued into opening night, and they rolled the Bruins in their home opener. It was 7-0 in the third period when Marchand grabbed Capitals center Lars Eller and started pummeling him, bloodying Eller as the two tumbled to the ice. What set him off? It turns out Marchand wasn't a fan of his goal celebration. "His celebration was unnecessary. He took an angle in front of our bench and celebrated in a 7-0 game. So I just let him know," said Marchand.
On Jan. 10, the teams played again and Eller attempted to have a go with Marchand, who skated away, and later said: "I haven't looked at the stat sheet, but I really don't feel like I need to prove anything. He plays maybe 10-12 minutes a night and I'm playing 20. In a 1-0 game and to go on a power play, it doesn't make sense." And with that, he landed one more good shot.
Social media would seem like fertile ground for one of the NHL's most renowned chirpers, and Marchand doesn't disappoint -- like making fun of someone's looks:
The only thing defenseless is your mouth with that huge hole between your teeth. You could eat a hot dog with your mouth closed
- Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) February 13, 2018
And ... making fun of someone's looks:
If your eyes were any further apart they would be on the back of your head... just saying
- Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) March 18, 2018
And ... making fun of himself:
Anyone want to play some NHL? pic.twitter.com/wdHUg2Eps6
- Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) October 20, 2017
Marchand plus Twitter equals an artist finding his perfect medium.
Report: Brad Marchand's Low Hit On #Senators' Borowiecki Under Review From NHL https://t.co/gZavxhB7hK https://t.co/Oh2P7OLR8x
- 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) December 30, 2015
Borowiecki bumped Marchand to allow an Ottawa Senators teammate to carry the puck out of their zone. Marchand responded by sending Borowiecki skates-over-noggin, flipping him on his head with a (unpenalized, of course) clip. The NHL gave Marchand three games, as it was within an 18-month window of another suspension.
"It was simple play. I was trying to get to the puck carrier, and I turned up ice, and he was kind of standing there. I just turned up and tried to go after the puck carrier," Marchand explained.
Brad Marchand hip checks Sami Salo w/SlowMo 1/7/12 http://t.co/jQwqpWl via @youtube
- Taylor Bommarito (@Bommarito23) November 22, 2012
This was the first game between the Bruins and the Canucks after their 2011 Stanley Cup Final, a seven-game series of abject brutality and melodrama that culminated with the city of Vancouver being looted and set on fire. Emotions were high.
They got higher when Marchand was hit solidly by defenseman Sami Salo. He retaliated with a few shoves before exacting revenge by flipping him along the boards with a low-bridge hit. Salo was concussed. Marchand was suspended for five games after receiving a five-minute major and a game misconduct in the game.
"It technically wasn't a clip," Marchand told ESPN in 2012. "Clipping is when you hit someone at the knees, and I did not hit him at the knees. Anyone that has seen the video will see that I hit him in the upper thigh under the buttocks." Got it.
Brad Marchand, a man of many words. �� pic.twitter.com/rNJgGhc9JI - hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) May 7, 2019
The hockey world is split up into two types of player interviews: The guys who have zero interest in them, and the guys who play along. Brad Marchand, without question, falls into that latter category. At least that's what Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas figured when he jokingly asked Marchand if he "managed to get his skate sharpened" after stepping on Atkinson's stick with it earlier in the series. (Keep in mind that Marchand himself joked about the same subject.) Marchand abruptly skated away, not appreciating someone trying to troll him or, apparently, irony.
Fast forward to Game 6 of their second-round series, and Bukauskas is tasked with interviewing a victorious Marchand after the Bruins ousted the Blue Jackets. He asked a few questions. Marchand provided the following answers:
"We did a good job."
"It's been fun."
"We're good."
Marchand continued this routine in the media scrum in the dressing room, as he answered 19 questions using a total of 39 words, or 2.05 words per answer.
Brad Marchand's postgame transcript. It was 1:45. pic.twitter.com/Gxdh2n8FfO - Marisa Ingemi (@Marisa_Ingemi) May 7, 2019
Even on a night when he said practically nothing, Brad Marchand was the talk of the hockey world.
Brad Marchand is in hot water once again.
What should be the discipline for his elbow on Johansson? pic.twitter.com/M2swr9DH2a
- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 24, 2018
This elbow to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson resulted in a five-game suspension that carried through the NHL All-Star Game. Johansson called the hit "sad" and "stupid" after he recovered from his second concussion in three months.
Was five games enough for Marchand?
"Ah, not really, considering this was the ninth time he's been suspended or fined. Like I said, you hope that it doesn't come to him ending someone's career before it's enough," Johansson said.
The epilogue: As of the 2019 trade deadline, the two are teammates in Boston. "That's water under the bridge," Johansson said after the trade. "It's hockey. It's a tough game. [Marchand] called me, and we spoke for a bit, and he apologized, which I think was great. ... That stuff happens a lot. It's just fun to be here and fun to be his teammate. I think he's one of the best players in the league. I'm (glad) to be on this side of it right now."
Brad Marchand pesters Justin Williams into a penalty - then signals the Carolina captain to the box. pic.twitter.com/0OPveb224V - Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 12, 2019
In the Bruins' Eastern Conference final series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Marchand decided early on that captain Justin Williams was going to be the target of his trolling. That included a moment in Game 2 that's equal parts mind-boggling and hilarious.
Marchand took Williams down by hooking him around the neck with his stick, like he was trying to haul a marlin onto a fishing boat. He was not penalized. Williams retaliated by grabbing Marchand and ripping open his chinstrap, earning a holding penalty. (That's the mind-boggling part.) As they separated, Marchand motioned with his hand to Williams, telling him where the penalty box was located. He then made a "C" with his glove and placed it on his chest, mocking the Hurricanes captain for taking the bait. (That's the hilarious part.)
Whatever fuse Marchand blew in Williams, it continued into Game 3 when Williams took three penalties in the first period.
Best, funniest, most heartwarming moments from #NHL Skills Competition. https://t.co/CuQLzc4DnD pic.twitter.com/g2hTxHGdU9
- NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 28, 2018
Marchand attended the 2018 NHL All-Star Game at Tampa Bay while suspended for giving Johansson a concussion, and less than a year removed from spearing Dotchin in the nether region. Greeted with cascades of boos, Marchand responded by ... waving and blowing kisses to the audience.
And by posing with fans with derogatory signs.
And by feigning injury when he was tripped during the All-Star Game.
It was his Loki moment: Sure, he tried to enslave humanity with the Chitauri, but how can you stay angry when he's just so darn charming?
Raising an invisible Stanley Cup and kissing it while you skate past the bench of the team you defeated for said Stanley Cup is twisted genius, and that's what Marchand did to the Canucks in 2013.
He also kissed an invisible Stanley Cup ring in the same game. Marchand would claim it was a reaction to having been eye-gouged by Ryan Kesler during the game.
Said Henrik Sedin: "It shows what kind of guy he is. He is a great player. It's too bad he is acting like he does, but that's the way it is."
Did Marchand just lick Komarov?
He can't taste good.
pic.twitter.com/32HCZlRgDY- Duffy on WCMF (@DuffyOnWCMF) April 13, 2018
Marchand took on-ice taunting to disgusting new levels during his rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs' Leo Komarov. Like so many relationships, it began with a kiss on the cheek, earlier in the 2017-18 season. By the first round of the playoffs, their bond had grown to the point where Marchand appeared to lick Komarov's neck.
"I thought he wanted to cuddle. I just wanted to get close to him," said Marchand, who wasn't penalized on the play. "He keeps trying to get close to me. I don't know if he's got a thing for me or what. He's cute."
This incident sparked a wave of comedic internet memes, perhaps even more than when Alex Burrows ate Patrice Bergeron's finger that one time. Speaking of the Canucks:
Me (Sedin) Vs. Mondays (Marchand) pic.twitter.com/P88LVbB86N
- ETD51 (@ETD51) April 3, 2018
The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals were, for my money, the single most brutal championship series in recent NHL history. Perhaps no moment better captured the Bruins' physical edge over the Canucks than in Game 6, when Marchand landed several punches to the face of Daniel Sedin before anyone intervened (in this case, the referee).
"No, he didn't say anything before. He was just right there. ... He didn't say anything; he was just kind of taking it," Marchand said of Sedin.
And why did Marchand keep punching him the face? "Because I felt like it."
(Cue music.)
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